Memorial Ball Markers

In February, Papa and I started golfing courses where his father golfed. We tried to visit as many courses as possible and even took an extended road trip this summer. A family member is in possession of a couple meticulous log books that were kept. Using that information, we feel comfortable that 70% of the courses we golfed were ones played by Papa's father.

In October, we added the final ball markers to the collection "book" we started as a small memorial. It contains 30 markers from courses located in nine states. Goodness, that man played a lot of courses. We played a small fraction of the courses he played around the world and, guaranteed, didn't play them as well. We do have a nice little memorial to remember him, though.

The final courses played were located in Arizona: Sunbird, Sunland Village East, Robson Ranch. The final course we played was The Duke in Maricopa. The Duke is a beautiful course and, we agreed, likely was a favorite one. It has gentle rolling hills. Although a newer course, it is well-landscaped. It is challenging with several water hazards, yet not intimidating. When we played, they had recently re-opened after over-seeding. That meant golf cart path only. We saw people with pull carts, which was a smart plan given the spacious, wide fairways and rolling hills.

After 36 weeks, we close this chapter. There will still be courses in the future, and we will remember Papa's father in many ways. Now we focus on our local course and our individual golf games, trying to improve. 

One of the fascinating facts discovered when going through the log books was the number of times he scored his age. For a golfer, that is the actual number of strokes played, not adjusting for handicap. Since most courses are between 62-75 par, top golfers can achieve this as early as their 60s. This goal is more often achieved in a person's 70s, maybe 80s. Many golfers never do. For Papa's father, he recorded this milestone an amazing 171 times. Papa and I will be honored if we achieve it even once. A goal to work towards.